Scanning 35mm Slides

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Many people who cherish their families and the memories they create together almost always love to keep photos of special occasions. So what joy it is for them to be able to discover old films and slides kept in their parents' or grandparents' homes. To these people, the well kept slides are real treasures and those which may even provide them a link to the past.

With the advent of the slide scanner, images from old films and slides can still be saved and restored. It doesn't matter whether you have your own dedicated or flatbed scanner or not. Good if you have one at home but if not, you can turn to business enterprises that offer professional slide scanning services at very affordable rates. You can find many of them on the internet.

Now let's get started. After you have prepared your 35mm slides and cleaned them, you are ready to start scanning.

If you're using a flatbed scanner or the so-called all in one, first check if a transparent materials adapter (TMA) is available. This adapter is where you normally mount the slides so they remain in place during scanning. If there is none, you can actually create one using paper or a thicker material such as a cardboard and tape.

Experts, however, recommend using a dedicated slide scanner to capture images that are of higher quality. A scanner meant exclusively for slides or films has a Digital ICE feature that is advanced in that it can remove dust and scratches from old slides through the use of infra red light technology.

Before you begin the scanning process, it is best to read and follow carefully the instructions provided on your scanner's manual. Keep in mind that models for this device vary the reason why there is no standard method.

If you're using an all-in-one flatbed scanner such as the HP Scanjet, first open the lid and get the adapter. Then carefully place your 35mm slides into the right template. There should be icons on the template that will guide you how to properly position your slides.

When you're done, close the lid and press the scan button. Depending on what you're scanning, you can change the settings to suit the type of material (negatives or positives which refer to the slides) you're scanning. After choosing the type of material, go to the Scan To section and click on the save to file button.

Once you're finished with the settings, just click Scan. From here, another window will open and this time, you need to save your files to a certain location. So when this Save Location dialog box opens, click on browse and find the folder where you'd like to save your scanned images. Finally, click the OK button and just follow the other instructions from there to complete the scanning process.

It is also wise to adjust the resolution of your images in the advanced picture settings section. The ideal resolution is 300 dpi to ensure you get top quality digital image.

It would help as well to back up your files and save them on an optical media such as a CD or DVD. In this way, you won't have to keep all your files on your computer to free up storage space.